1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to conveyor systems; and, more particularly, it relates to conveyor systems for moving any of a number of types of products, articles of manufacture, etc. such as along one or more conveyor belts.
2. Description of Related Art
Conveyor systems, such as those that include a conveyor belt, have been in use and under continual development for many years. The applications within which such conveyor systems may be implemented are varied, including food production, packaging, product assembly, etc. Generally speaking, such conveyor systems may be implemented in any of a variety of different contexts for any of a variety of different purposes.
Within many prior art conveyor systems, the conveyor belt therein is driven by friction against the drum bars with one or more driving rollers, against support frames extending from a drive assembly underneath the conveyor belt, or in accordance with some other frictionally based drive mechanism. For example, considering an implementation of an endless conveyor system (i.e., a conveyor system having a conveyor belt whose ends are attached) is driven by friction between the conveyor belt and the drum bars with one or more rollers that are physically in contact with the conveyor belt. As may be understood with respect to such prior art systems, a great deal of tension must be maintained in the conveyor belt to ensure appropriate contact between these one or more driving rollers and the conveyor belt, in that, the belt is driven through friction between the driving components and the conveyor belt itself.
The deficiencies of prior art conveyor systems are many. For example, because of the very high tension that must be maintained in accordance with the frictional engagement and driving of the conveyor belt, there can be significant wear and tear on the conveyor belts within such systems. For example, in an effort to deal with the wear and tear particularly introduced by such a frictionally driven system, additional consideration must often be made in regards to the interfacing of the conveyor belts to components within the conveyor belt system (e.g., including employing protective plastic caps, strips, and other materials in efforts to minimize the rate of degradation of the conveyor belt).
Because of this significant degradation in conveyor belt integrity, it may be understood that such conveyor belts need to be replaced to ensure appropriate operation of the overall system. During such maintenance, such as the replacement of the conveyor belt within the system, the system is clearly inoperable resulting in a great deal of downtime, loss of productivity, increased operating costs, etc. Moreover, in certain applications, such as those related to food processing and/or production, the prior art designs are unfortunately quite susceptible to various food products being trapped and caught within various portions of the overall system, which can compromise sanitation, cleanliness, product quality, etc. (e.g., often-times directly as a result of additional considerations that are made in efforts to minimize the rate of degradation of the conveyor belt, including employing protective plastic caps, strips, and other materials). To deal with such deficiencies, such prior art conveyor systems typically undergo a shutdown and maintenance operation during which, again, the system is clearly inoperable resulting in a great deal of downtime, loss of productivity, increased operating costs, etc. The prior art does not presently provide any solution by which such deficiencies and problems may be avoided.